A Glance Behind the Acrylic Curtain:  Taylor Printing Group Inc.  

By Dana MacDonald 

 

When the coronavirus first reached North America, Canadians’ idea of “normal” was pulled out from under them. For the first few weeks of the Canadian portion of the pandemic, there was a palpable heaviness that seemed to settle over every individual and business as we all scrambled to make sense of the new world we’d found ourselves in. As businesses worked to ensure the safety of their customers and employees, demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) skyrocketed, followed quickly by global shortages. But one local business, Taylor Printing Group Inc., saw the need for PPE as a challenge they were more than able to face.  

 

Primarily a printing company with a skillset ranging from traditional lithographic printing to digital, the naissance of COVID-19 and the desire to help local businesses adjust to new safety standards brought about the decision to begin producing PPE. Scott Williams, Taylor Printing’s CEO, describes the motivation to produce PPE as being “Just out of wanting to keep everyone working”. With the majority of product demand originating from the dental industry and government organizations in the Atlantic provinces, Taylor Printing began offering face shields, workspace dividers, interior and exterior social distancing decals, and protective countertops alongside its range of printing services. Already equipped to produce items in heavier plastics, it was a downright logical step to take. Williams says, “We’re a manufacturing company, normally we do printing, so it was a pretty easy pivot”.  

 

Not only has Taylor Printing found a niche in manufacturing PPE, but these products have helped smooth the transition for local businesses by increasing PPE availability. This equipment, once implemented, provides protections against COVID-19 that are easy to integrate into the workplace.